End of ADS-L Digest - 20 Jan 1994 to 21 Jan 1994
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There are 4 messages totalling 59 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. y'all singular, not! (4)
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Date: Sat, 22 Jan 1994 00:00:49 CST
From: "Donald M. Lance"
Subject: Re: y'all singular, not!
Thanks, Mike Picone, for your description of "singular" y'all. As a native
speaker of Y'all, I've always felt that the so-called "singular y'all" is
always addressed to a representative of a real or hypothetical group. But
I haven't wanted to diss others' data. It may indeed be the case that some
people do have only one person in mind when saying "y'all," but not me.
Even if a single, solitary person has visited a y'all-speaking home, the
friendly "Y'all come back" seems to me to be an invitation for the single,
solitary visitor to bring a friend next time if it's convenient-- or it's a
cue that friends of friends are always welcome too. Maybe I've just been
talking to the bellybutton of my hypothetical Sprachgefuehl, but it's an
honest response. DMLance